To Kill A Mockingbird: Comparison Among The 3 Chil Essay, Research Paper
To Kill a Mockingbird: Comparison among the 3 Children Charles Baker Harris, Jean Louise Finch and Jem Finch are separate individuals with their own personalities that are in some ways alike. The author lets us compare them by giving us an indepthed look into each of them from Scout s point of view. Of course, there is the age gap which becomes more of a factor later on as Jem is on the break of manhood. Being the older brother, he influences Scout who consequently reveals a strong masculine side. Also, their different backgrounds as persons differs them from one an other. Nevertheless, they do have their similarities. Initially, their family life is not exactly in the norm. Jem and Jean Louise were raised without a mother which increases their moral inheritance from their father, Atticus Finch.His intelligence and his points of view towards society are moreless imprinted as time passes on. His opinion towards prejudice is especially emphasized upon the siblings. Somewhat like the Finch s, Dill s family has not been a fairy tale either. Though unlike the Finch family, Dill s has not coped with its problems as efficiently leaving him in a world of fantasy where he has disillusioned himself into thinking “he has seen an elephant, and his granddaddy was Brigadier General Joe Wheeler” to compensate for his ongoing unstable childhood. This is partly a result of telling the lie so many times that he had convinced himself that this was true. He is therefore more vulnerable than Scout and Jem to the harsh realities of the adult world. On a brighter note, he has become more independent; the fact that he stole money and left via Maycomb on a train all alone would be a perfect example of this. Next, their sensitivity towards all that goes on around them enables the reader to compare them from one another. Although Jem is becoming a man, he keeps his childlike innocence while at the same time becoming more perceptive as an adult. The narrator makes note of this as she says “Jem was becoming almost as good as Atticus at making you feel right when things went wrong.” Scout is also a sensitive yet perceptive character as she thinks to herself “Mayella must be the loneliest person in the world” while the victim is on the witness stand in court. Other examples of sensitivity can be found during the trial. Dill, upset by Mr. Gilmer s badgering and disrespectful cross-examination, becomes physically ill and is forced to leave the courtroom crying. He becomes bitterly disturbed by the sickening fashion in which the prosecutor was performing. Afterwards in court, Jem bursts into tears screaming “, but after that outburst he retreats into silence to mull things over in an adult fashion.” This is similar to Dill s case except the fact that unlike him, Jem left on his own initiative being the young adult that he is.
In addition, their moralities can be briefly evaluated to compare or contrast Dill, Scout and Jem. Evidently, there s the fact that unlike Jem, Scout will resort to violence to resolve her disputes with peers. But more importantly, Jem s journey into manhood has a important result on his perception of the world he inhabits. Much like Dill and Scout, Jem realizes the prejudice, evil and hypocrisy that surrounds him but to a larger extent. This is where it is apparent how his maturity differs him from his sister as Scout “denies Jem s perception of the class snobbery” amongst the separate societies which she is too na ve to distinguish. His values have also changed as Jem forbids Scout to step on a small insect as it is like the mockingbird that harms no one. Not only Scout, but Dill also has trouble understanding Jem s points of view that have so rapidly appeared since Jem has matured at a much quicker pace. In conclusion, the author created these characters to be three individuals with different backgrounds, while maintaining several similarities amongst them.*